The Maine GOP adoped Austrian Economics as part the 2010 Party Platform today at the convention…I’m not sure if this has sunk in yet…I’ll post links when they become available. This was a great day at the convention for me.
V.
a. Return to the principles of Austrian Economics and redirect the economy back to one of incentives to save and invest.
c. pass and implement fed bill #1207 (introduced by Ron Paul), to audit the Federal Reserve, as the first step in ending the Fed.
How can they return to Austrian principles if they have never held them? They obviously don’t have a clue what they are talking about.
They are probably referring to the Old Right, which was more Austrain (comparativley) to the GOP. Most people do not know what the Old Right is, though, so it would be otherwise marketing stupidity if they just spouted that term without explaining it.
It looks better for them to say “return to”, as it implies with that the party will need new blood & to throw out incumbents to get back to what is viewed, increasingly, as to what works better.
That’s like saying wood is more edible than steel and therefore we should return to eating cotton candy.
That doesn’t make it not correct.
Portions of the GOP are correctly reacting to the disdain for the GOP, the exposure to more Austrian Econ via the internet, as well as general poulist trends. Locally, many of them will eventually hold certain views completley counter to the main GOP, probably.
I didn’t say whether or not they’d follow through, nor did I approve, it’s just far easier for them to market themselves with something they view as more popular with potential voters without actually doing said work.
I’m a little suprised by the response here. Of course most of the people at the convention do not know or understand what Austrian economics is. They also do not know Keynesian economics or what the Chicago School is…Most people think that my logon of MisesMan is mrs man, what does that prove? They do understand that the current system does not work and that movng to a real free market system that limits government planning is a good thing for the country.
This is the first time that I can remember a mainstream political party rejecting the Keynesian model for the Austrian one (even though most of them had no idea what they were doing)…This is a big step towards people becoming educated and this should be celebrated.
Yeah, it’s a big step… or just another pile of shit to get votes and then do everything but. Like the entire GOP history and entire history of the Conservative Party of Canada also.
Misesman: "This was a great day at the convention for me. "
I see these are your first two posts, welcome!
I don’t understand what “adopt Austrian economics” means in relation to a political party platform.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to say the party “adopted a Libertarian political position on certain issues”, rather than the party “adopted Austrian economics”? I’m not trying to be a jerk here, I’m simply trying to make sense of your statement.
Regarding your point “a.” - What is actually needed is for government to diminish and fade away. There is no “redirecting” back to anything. I’m willing to let go of the “fade away” part for now. I simply don’t believe that ANY political party proposes to diminish the power of government; it’s never been done. Political parties exist to grow the power of government, to inject government into areas that have not yet been infected by it.
Regarding your point “c.” - I couldn’t tell if you are saying that the platform adopted support for 1207, or that this would be hoped for in some future policy statement. Clarify?
V.To Promote the General Welfare:
a.Return to the principles of Austrian Economics, and redirect the economy back to one of incentives to save and invest.
b.Cut spending, balance the budget, and institute a plan for paying down debt. Proclaim that generational debt shifting is immoral and unconscionable and will not be tolerated!
c.Pass and implement Fed bill #1207 (Introduced by Ron Paul), to Audit the Federal Reserve, as the first step in Ending the Fed.
Those two items appear in the platform as written above. I’m not worried about any errors or omissions and believe that this is an important step in educating people in Austrian economics and making it more mainstreamed. I believe that this is a good thing.
OK. I didn’t understand that you had copied actual sections from the platform, I thought you were just making points. I see now that these are the planks in the party platform.
I still contend that no political party would actually cut down the size and scope of government, and no party would even stand in the way of government growth.
Look what happens when the people have their benefits cut (Greece is just the tiny beginning of the crisis of intervention that will spread from one nation to the next as insolvency becomes apparent).
At the first sign that people need benefits, the people in power (who call themselves the “government”) will simply do what they always do; tax, borrow, print, and spend. They will never abolish the Fed. The Fed is the most powerful policy tool the people in power possess.
The entire social security system is generational debt shifting, the Maine GOP will not tolerate it? Really?
Well, good luck with the platform. Sorry to be so skeptical. Maybe others here will be more upbeat about it.
The platform already passed…what it does is valididate Austrian economics…The biggest question at the convention was “what’s Austrian economics?” and that was awsome…
a.Return to the principles of Austrian Economics, and redirect the economy back to one of incentives to save and invest.
sounds more like consumption tax rhetoric then anything else. Austrian economics is not about incentives to save or invest. It’s not about any policy!
It is about policy…if it wasn’t what would be the point?
the point is an argument for the abolition of government, misesman. Nothing else will prove satisfactory to radical libertarians.
I’m closer to Hayek so I believe in some government. I really like Walter Block but I still like public roads:)
I love government, but I also like Walter Block, he’s very rabbinical.
"It is about policy…if it wasn’t what would be the point?"
Getting the State off our back, maybe.. But incentive to save and invest? What is that?
Austrian economics is not like “Supply side” or “Demand side” economics, etc… It doesn’t prescribe any government policy. It just shows that the market is best to be left alone without any violent intervention by the government.
I think it’s better for purposes of political platform propaganda to talk about the “free market” or “Laissez-fair”, which is what Austrian economists typically recommend, and leave the term “Austrian” for more in depth discussion about economics. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t bring it up. It’s great that Ron Paul does so when ever he has a chance. But it really has no place on a political platform. It actually displays a certain level of ignorance. Austrian economics is a value free science and not an ideology.
The same as the point of any other political campaign. To lie and then stab voters in the back.
Here is a link to the platform – I was one of the committee members that worked on this for the past 18 months.
Mr. Dyer:First, you should be commended for your efforts. I read the platform, it is certainly a departure from the Republican Party I used to support, which is a good thing.
It was the Presidency of G.W. Bush that caused me abandon the Republican Party. I voted for him twice. But by Sept. 2008 (collapse of Lehman and the REPUBLICAN bailout) I had learned much about economics and politics since my earlier days of ignorance.
Preamble, paragraph #2: The problem is attributed to a lack of vigilance by past generations to defend liberty. I disagree. We have exactly the government that past generations wanted. Government obliged the people, and it grew in size with each generation since the 1787. It never shrank, it never became less intrusive to liberty, it never restricted itself. It always grew. It will always grow. The two party system is designed to assure this growth.
To Form a More Perfect Union: Does the Maine GOP support the repeal of the 17th amendment that allowed the direct election of U.S. Senators? How can the states maintain sovereignty unless the U.S. Senators are accountable to the various state legislatures as originally envisioned?
To Provide for the Common Defense: Where is the resolution to immediately end the undeclared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? How much longer are the taxpayers to pay for these wars?
To Promote the General Welfare: Why doesn’t the Maine GOP support repealing the 16th Amendment and abolishing the income tax? Why does the Maine GOP continue to support the central bank? You support 1207, but it will take the repeal of the Federal Reserve Act to get the job done. “To return to the principles of Austrian Economics”; what does this mean? I am not the only one in the forum who is puzzled by this. It’s great that there was a discussion about sound economics during the convention, but what does this phrase mean? Do you actually mean “return to Libertarian principles of non-intervention in the economy”?
I do like the term limits.
However, I can’t reconcile the fact that it does not matter who is in power. The natural state of government is to grow, not shrink. It is impossible to implement “limited government”. It is obvious that the experiment that began in 1787 has failed. The $12 trillion in debt, and $60 trillion in unfunded future liabilities will never be reigned in or paid (riots in Greece, just a tiny hint of the future). The central bank, which will never be abolished, will simply print the money to pay these benefits and fund the endless wars. So, that will be end of the monetary system in the U.S. and thus the end of the economy. So, you can see why I am skeptical about party platforms, political parties in general, and the outlook for Liberty in our lifetime, or ever.
My opinions are, of course, my own.